Provisional Cast On--Alternate Methods

A few posts ago, I asked whether anyone knew of an alternative to the two provisional cast ons that I know (the long-tail with waste yarn and the crochet chain). It turns out you know of quite a few! It also turns out that there are even more provisional cast-ons out there. I sorted through those that you brought to my attention and those that I uncovered through the magic of the internet and picked out the following as the ones that seem the simplest and most workable. I have not tried all of these, so I could be wrong about their usefulness. But if you're looking for a better provisional cast on than the one you are currently using, or you haven't yet had need of one but may in the future, it can't hurt to check out these. If you do try one (or more) and want to share your experience, or you know of another one that deserves mention, feel free to comment here for the benefit of all.

Ravel Cord Cast-On
This link is courtesy of Kathleen at Quail Hill Knits. I haven't tried it myself, but it looks like a good option. The only drawback is that you have to have ravel cord on hand to do it.

Direct Crochet
This tutorial is from Stitch Diva. This method has the benefit of an easy-to-unzip crochet chain, but does not require first making a chain and then picking up stitches through it (which I loathe).

Invisible Cast-On
This tutorial is from Eunny Jang. It is very similar to the method I used for Prosperous, for which I cannot find either a tutorial or online instructions. The instructions I actually used are in the Summer 2007 issue of Knitter's. This is a little fiddly, but not really any more difficult than a long-tail cast on, and the waste yarn should pull out easily when the time comes. I'll let you know how that works for me.

Loose Cast-On (for picot edge only)
These instructions come from a sock pattern. The link is courtesy of Mel at Aspire to Knit. Basically, you just cast on over two needles (or one very large one) to create a loose cast on row. When the time comes to turn under your hem, you can easily pick up and knit the extra large stitches of the cast on row together with your working stitches. Note that this is not an alternative to a provisional cast on where you will be picking up and knitting again in another direction, since that first row will be distorted. It only works for the underside of a hem.